Children with the Bend Endurance Academy program climb using self-belay devices on walls featuring large murals. The new building offers more beginner climbing routes, an improvement over the previous gym, where many of the routes were too difficult for novices. Specialized holds also are kid-friendly. Young climbers can grab hold of fruit, animals and funny faces. Rob Kerr / The Bulletin

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With freshly chalked fingers, climber Blake Hawkins starts on a bouldering route, engaging his strength to move up the wall.Rob Kerr / The Bulletin

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With his hands taped and chalked, Morse leads a climb on one of three rock-crack features in the new gym. Rob Kerr / The Bulletin

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The hands of climber Joel Morse show a protective tape job he needed for climbing a rock crack feature. "My hands were shredded yesterday." he said about the technique that uses the backs of the hands to hold body weight. ORIG / Rob Kerr / The Bulletin

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Exhausted after falling from a bouldering route he nearly completed, Henry Mosier flops onto the protective mat as his friend Anders Hatlestad chalks his hands in anticipation of giving it a try himself. Rob Kerr / The Bulletin

Bend Rock Gym on the city’s east side has gotten bigger and better with the addition of a second space for indoor climbing. Overhangs, off-angle, top-rope and bouldering problems are all part of the fun at the 20,000-square-foot facility. A specialized speed-climbing wall also has been included, so the gym can host competitions.